


The Dawn

by Lucerna



Series: Vikara [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - The Fire Nation Won, Azula (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Dysfunctional Family, Fire Nation (Avatar), Fire Nation Royal Family, Gen, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, POV Zuko (Avatar), What-If, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zuko's Scar (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25994266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucerna/pseuds/Lucerna
Summary: Zuko's day starts like usual.He rises with the sun.But it ends with screams.
Relationships: Azula & Lu Ten, Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Ozai (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Lu Ten & Zuko, Ozai & Zuko (Avatar), Ursa & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Vikara [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1886668
Comments: 17
Kudos: 121





	The Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> A little something I've been working on.

Zuko’s day starts like usual.

He wakes up precisely as the sun begins to appear in the sky.

_ He always rises with the sun. _

He calls a servant to prepare him a bath, and goes through his schedule for the day while waiting.

After a bath, the servants help him get dressed into his royal robes, _and_ _don’t forget the headpiece._ Usually, his hair is tied up in ponytail.

_ Except today, he decides to tie his hair up in a bun. _

~~ (he never did this until today) ~~

He assesses his appearance in the mirror.

_I look like ~~the Firelord~~ a Prince. That’s what I am, and will always be._

Zuko makes his way to the dining hall, where breakfast is about to be served.

When he arrives, his family is already seated.  _Father isn’t here._ They start to dine in peace, at least until Uncle Iroh sips from his cup of tea.

He groans, “Who made this?!”

“What’s wrong?” Zuko questions.  _Is the tea too bitter? Was it not his usual Ginseng tea?_

“This tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice!”

Zuko grimaces.  _Are you serious?_ Looking around, it seems everyone at the table had the same thought. Azula and cousin Lu Ten are frowning, while mother has a hint of amusement in her expression.

“But father, that’s what  _all _ tea is.” Cousin Lu Ten says after he manages to process the information he just heard.

Unexpectedly, Uncle Iroh gasps like his lifespan was just cut in half. “How could a member of my own family say something so horrible!”

Azula hits her forehead hard, and if you squint, you might just be able to see an imprint of her palm.

Mother giggles at Uncle’s statement. Cousin Lu Ten only smiles. 

Like usual, Zuko’s glad he has his family.  _After Uncle Iroh and cousin Lu Ten returned from the war a week ago, it has been nothing but fun and games._

When a servant announces father’s arrival, Zuko is ecstatic.  _ I have new forms to show him after breakfast._

He looks over to Azula, who’s also elated.  W _e could practice our forms together in front of father, but I’ll have to be better than her, obviously._

Mother’s face neutered after father enters. Zuko doesn’t wonder why,  _nor does he bother to think about it more._

Uncle Iroh and cousin Lu Ten both have unreadable expressions. Zuko can’t quite read them precisely. It’s not exactly neutered like mother’s, but it’s not outright showing any emotions.  _Might have to inquire father about reading people’s emotions later._

Father strides to his seat at Uncle Iroh’s left hand. He doesn’t start eating, and he stays quiet, which makes the atmosphere awkward, Zuko thinks. ~~(But he doesn’t dare say it out loud,~~ ~~ father despises when he speak out of turn).~~

“You’re late.” Uncle Iroh reprimands father.

They all continue the meal in silence. Zuko fidgets in his seat next to Azula, who starts stabbing the vegetables on her plate with her chopsticks.

_ It has been like this ever since Uncle Iroh and cousin Lu Ten returned. Father becomes distant and cold, like a different person entirely. _

Usually he’d greet Zuko and Azula before eating ~~(but not mother)~~. Father has always been welcoming, so why does he stare at Zuko with disgust in his eyes? 

They finish the meal in less than thirty minutes.  _It’s too awkward that no one wanted to spend anymore time there_. Uncle Iroh and cousin Lu Ten are the first to leave. The moment they walk out of sight, father stands up.  _His meal is untouched._

“Zuko, we will practice your forms today.” Father leaves after relaying his message.

“What about me?” Azula quickly follows behind him, no doubt pestering about her own training.

Azula’s the prodigal child, obviously she gets advanced training. Her fire has small burst of blue, rarely seen even in the history of their nation.  _Zuko wants what she has._

_He's not jealous or anything, but he’s the firstborn, the first child of Prince Ozai and Princess Ursa, so he deserves to be the best. Why did Azula get to be the prodigy? She’s just a spoiled brat. Not that he’ll say it out loud. Mother hates it when he and Azula argue.  But why should he listen to her? ~~She doesn’t know what it’s like to be compared a younger sister who’s better at everything.~~_

After the awkward breakfast, Zuko has an hour to himself before training begins. He mentally calculates the forms he’s going through today.  _Father has begun teaching him how to bend lightning for almost two months now. It’s a lesson he has that for once, Azula doesn’t. Serves her right for being overly emotional._

_Ever since their youth, Azula’s rarely able to control her outbursts. ~~Amateur~~ . In terms of raw strength, she wins overall. But Zuko has mastery of his outbursts, and knows a secret from Uncle Iroh._

_ Uncle always mentioned that fire comes from the breath.  _

_ Wait until Azula finds out about— _

“Zu-zu!”

Zuko frowns.  _He hates that nickname. It’s childish, especially coming from Azula._

“What is it, Azula?”

“Father wants to see you. He said to come visit him in the training hall.”

“I still have an hour before we train.” Zuko mutters to himself, but Azula catches it perfectly.

“What do you mean by that?” 

Without turning around, Zuko knows it’s her turn to frown. And so he taunts her. “Oh, don't you get a private training session with father?”

As he expects, Azula tenses. With nothing else to say, he walks away.

**_Why did you do that?_** Zuko’s head throbs in pain after he turns a corner.  **_She’s your sister, why did you mock her?_**

He leans on a wall, his body hidden from peeping eyes. Closing his eyes, Zuko tries to massage the headache away.

_** You’ve changed, Zuko. It’s all because of him. This was supposed to be your second chance. Do not welcome the darkness that knocks on your door.  ** _

** “Zuko.”  **

The young prince tenses upon hearing his name called out. The usual warmth is gone, replaced by something cold and slimy. It's disgusting and unnerving.

The shadow looms over his crouching body. Zuko is scared, for once in his life. He doesn’t dare look up.

“Stand up.”

Despite his fears, his body moves unwillingly, like a puppet attached to strings. Finally he looks up.

“Father.” 

“Come with me. You have training to do.”

Zuko reluctantly follows. He walks in his father’s shadow. They do not speak a word until they make it to the training hall.

For the next few hours, Zuko goes over his forms, with father’s hard gaze watching his every move. Zuko is afraid of messing up, his body tensing before and after every form he takes.  Father barely makes a sound, only speaking when Zuko starts to become sloppy.

Today’s training is weird, and Zuko hates every bit of it.

They skip lunch, because father says Zuko still needs to fix his forms so he can bend lightning properly.  _Not that Zuko has done it yet, but it’s so he can do it perfectly once he tries it. Right?_

Finally after a long and rigorous day of going over his forms, father hands him a dark cloth.

“Cover your eyes.”

Zuko’s eyes go wide, but his hands go about tying the cloth anyway. He hears father’s voice getting closer to him.

“You are to go against me, without your sight.”

Zuko trembles, and almost backs out.  **_Do not fear him. It’s what gives him power. I stand beside you always._**

He takes a deep breath, and goes into his fighting stance, ready to defend himself.

_ It goes as well as he can hope. _

Zuko doesn’t quite manage to be on the offensive, but he’s able to stand his ground. He doesn’t know what father expects, only hopes that he’s adequate in father’s eyes.

Without his sight, Zuko’s other senses are blaring. It isn’t the first time he’s tried to practice blindfolded, but it’s certainly the first where it’s against a mighty opponent such as his father. But something in him gives strength.

After a couple of minutes, the attacks stop. Zuko’s sure his training is over. He lowers the cloth, but realizes his mistake the moment his eyes land on the vicious grin on his father’s face.

_ “Poor choice.” _

It’s too late to back away from the palm that presses on the left side of his face.

**_ And he screams. _ **

**Author's Note:**

> So that's that. The time is around 2 months after the Siege of Ba Sing Se, so around 95 AG. Which give or take, leaves Zuko at the age of 11/12 ish.
> 
> Please don't hesitate to comment or ask anything! I'll try my best to reply to whatever you want!


End file.
